Oregon Coast Community College Presents a Maikalani Community Lecture:

Exciting Results with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

NASA’s 21-foot diameter JWST detects infrared (heat) radiation from celestial bodies, providing information not available at other wavelengths. It allows astronomers to study the formation of new stars inside dense clouds of gas, newly formed dust in the gases ejected by dying stars, and part of the atmospheric composition of planets orbiting other stars. Among JWST’s most surprising results so far is the very early formation of galaxies after the Big Bang.

Dr. Alex Filippenko

Astrophysicist Alex Filippenko will showcase some of the JWST’s most stunning discoveries during a live lecture from Hawaii this Friday evening. Oregon Coast Community College will stream the lecture live, starting at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at its North County Center in Lincoln City. There is no cost to attend.

Alex Filippenko (Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, UC Berkeley) is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the world’s most highly cited astrophysicists. Voted the “Best Professor” on campus a record nine times, in 2006 he was named the Case/Carnegie National Professor of the Year. He has produced five video courses with The Great Courses, coauthored an award-winning astronomy textbook, and appears in more than 120 TV documentaries.

Lincoln County astronomer Sifan Kahale will host the local presentation of the lecture, streamed live from The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.

Source: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/spacecraftoverview/